Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens End Fall Season on Several High Notes

NCAA Division III saw the Sagehens pull out all the stops this fall in a variety of sports. Pomona-Pitzer women’s soccer earned their sixth-straight SCIAC Regular Season Championship. Meanwhile, the men’s teams in cross-country, water polo, and football boasted major SCIAC and regional titles. 

The Claremont Colleges men’s rugby team also took home wins in several fall tournaments in the Division I Gold Coast Rugby Conference. One Pitzer student became a doubles champion in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) West Regional Tournament. One Pitzer student achieved honors as SCIAC Offensive Athlete of the Year in football.

Read more in this athletics roundup for fall 2024:

ITA Doubles Champions in Women’s Tennis

On September 29, Angie Zhou PO’25 and Marissa Markey ’25 were crowned as the doubles champions at the ITA West Regional Tournament. Zhou and Markey earned All-American honors for their displays at the tournament before competing in the ITA Cup.

Women’s Soccer Secures Sixth-Straight Regular Season SCIAC Title

Pomona-Pitzer women’s soccer defeated rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) to secure first place in the SCIAC on November 2 with a score of 1–0. With the win, the Sagehens ended their regular season with a record of 14–1–2 overall and 10–1–1 in SCIAC play. Hannah Hong PO’26 had the only goal of the game, Amanda Khu PO’25 had an assist, and Patricia DePalma PO’27 had three saves.

With the 1–0 win, the Sagehens became the 2024 SCIAC Regular Season Champions for the sixth year in a row.

Men’s Cross-Country Wins Fourth-Straight SCIAC Title and Seventh-Straight NCAA West Regional Title

Pomona-Pitzer men’s cross-country won its fourth consecutive SCIAC Championship on November 2 behind a second-place individual finish from Cameron Hatler PO’25. The Sagehens totaled 24 points to secure the team win, finishing ahead of CMS (50) and Caltech (98). Pomona-Pitzer featured three competitors in the top four, and seven in the top 11. 

Pomona-Pitzer men’s cross-country then won its seventh consecutive NCAA West Regional title on November 16. The team was led by a first-place individual finish from Quinn White PO’27 and a second-place finish by Hatler. As a team, the Sagehens totaled 42 points, finishing ahead of second-place CMS (101) and third-place George Fox (127).

Claremont Colleges Men’s Rugby Wins Fall Tournaments 

The Claremont Colleges men’s rugby team took home wins in several major tournaments, including the Bowl Championship and the Chula Vista West Coast 7s Rugby Tournament. Across both competitions, the Lions held a 5–4 overall record. The Lions play in the Division I Gold Coast Rugby Conference, which consists of schools from across the Southwest. 

Men’s Water Polo Ends 2024 Regular Season as SCIAC Co-Champs

The Pomona-Pitzer men’s water polo team finished the regular season with an 18–7 win over Caltech on November 16. With the win, the Sagehens improved to 19–11 overall and 10–2 in SCIAC play to earn a share of the SCIAC Regular Season Championship with Redlands University.

The Sagehens were led by Pitzer’s Kai Baker ’28 and Darragh Flanders PO’28, who each netted a hat-trick with three goals in the win. Dillon Joyce ’26, Alden Pfau ’28, and Chris Childs ’28 had multi-goal games with two each while Patrick Hughes ’25, Julian Montoya ’27, Stavros Zografos PO’28, Jack Ryan ’25, Tommy Ryan PO’27, and Logan Colman ’28 had one.

Men’s Football Crowned 2024 SCIAC Champions

The Pomona-Pitzer football team captured the 2024 SCIAC Championship with their 37–34 win over Chapman University on November 16. With the win, the Sagehens were crowned SCIAC champions for the second time in program history to improve to 8–2 overall.

The Sagehens were led by Pitzer’s Grady Russo ’27, who completed 35 of his 49 attempts for 397 yards as well as 102 yards on the ground. Russo accounted for all five touchdowns. Quinten Wimmer ’25 led the receiving core with 164 yards and two touchdowns while Sander Wimmer ’25 had 86 yards and a touchdown. Thomas McConnell PO’25 led the defense with nine tackles while Omaru Konneh PO’25, Ethan Norris ’25, and Alden Kling PO’27 came away with sacks.

It was a game you had to see to believe: The Sagehens came back from a 21-point deficit in the first half. Chapman controlled the game early on and then added two scores in the second quarter to make it 21–0. The Sagehens found their offense just before halftime after they struck for their first score of the game with a 30-yard pass to make it 28–7.
  
Pomona-Pitzer had a huge third quarter to outscore Chapman 16–0. The Sagehens took their first lead of the game after an 18-yard pass from Russo to Sander Wimmer to go up 29–28 with 8:19 left to play. The Panthers reclaimed the lead at 34–29, but the Sagehens put together a great last drive and Russo found Wimmer to pull down the game-winning touchdown with 28 seconds to play.

Watch the highlights reel here:

Quinten Wimmer ’25 Named Offensive Athlete of the Year in Football

Quinten Wimmer ’25 was recognized as SCIAC Offensive Athlete of the Year to headline the football all-conference teams. Wimmer totaled 449 yards on 41 catches with six touchdowns along with another 141 on the ground and 48 through the air. A 10-catch, 164-yard performance with the game-winning touchdown in the SCIAC Championship game punctuated a brilliant senior year that helped seal Pomona-Pitzer’s second-ever NCAA Championship appearance after first making the field in 2022. 

To learn more, please visit Sagehen Athletics.